


Ignorance is Bliss

by webslinginstark



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hospitalization, Hurt Tony Stark, Injury, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes - Freeform, Peter Parker & Tony Stark - Freeform, Peter Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker is a Mess, Rhodey might kill Tony if he pulls this shit again, Stubborn Tony, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is stubborn and where do you think it gets him, Tony still owns the tower because I said so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25177936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webslinginstark/pseuds/webslinginstark
Summary: “Internal bleeding, Tony.”“Isn’t that where my blood is supposed to be?” Tony joked slightly, cracking a small grin. His grin faded in an instant as he noticed his company wasn’t in a laughing mood.AKATony is as stubborn as always and refuses to get help until it's almost too lateFull Title: "Ignorance is Bliss Unless You're Tony Stark, Then it's Just Ignorance"
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Ignorance is Bliss

**Author's Note:**

> This is a quick one-shot I put together after reading a prompt on instagram. Take it for what it is. And please enjoy!

Tony sighed slightly as he rubbed a circle into his temple with his thumb. His head had been screaming at him all morning, and he was quickly losing his patience. He was trying to have a nice and quiet evening, to help alleviate the pain, but that changed when Happy dropped Peter off and he instantly turned the TV on-- and  _ loudly _ at that. Tony couldn’t even bring himself to open his eyes and see what the kid had put on. He had sat himself down on the couch a few minutes ago, thinking maybe if he rested his eyes for a bit, the drumming would go away. 

“Mr. Stark?” 

He quickly shot his eyes open, trying his best not to wince from the surge of brightness that filled his vision. He turned slightly to where the call of his name had come from, his eyes landing on Peter sitting next to him on the couch. “Hm?” 

“I said, are you alright? You’ve been rubbing your head for the last 15 minutes,” Peter reiterated, although Tony had no recollection of him asking the first time. 

Tony pulled his hand down from his head and pushed himself up in his seat. “Oh. Yeah, of course,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’m fine. Just a headache is all.” 

He lied. The headache was just the tip of the iceberg that he crashed into this morning. He started feeling terrible yesterday, but tried not to think anything of it. He felt exhausted, but he passed that off as lack of sleep. He had an awful round of stomach pain and nausea this morning, but he assumed it was something he ate. And overall he just felt weak. 

“Do you want me to get you anything? Some iBuprofen? Water?” 

“No, no. I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately,” he quickly supplied. He didn’t want to worry the kid, and he wasn’t exactly lying either. 

Peter frowned. “Is it the nightmares again?” 

“What? No. It’s.. Accords things..” he tried not to grimace at how fake that sounded. “Ross won’t get off my back about it.” 

Tony was relieved that Peter seemed to relax into the couch. He either believed him, or he didn’t want to push him about it. Either way, Tony was grateful Peter had accepted what he said and wasn’t asking any more questions, because he was starting to get lightheaded. Lightheadedness on top of everything else Tony had been experiencing lately was starting to concern him, but he didn’t want to scare Peter. 

“You just.. Keep watching your show,” He said as he pushed himself up off the couch. A bit too fast for his liking as he had to take a moment to steady himself. “I’m going to...” he took a deep breath as nonchalantly as he could to hide the fact that he was out of breath from such a simple task, “..going to.. Get some--” 

“Mr. Stark?”

He stopped mid sentence as he noticed the room starting to spin around him. “--some .. water,” he barely managed to finish before his body shut down on him, and he went toppling to the floor. 

* * *

**_Seven Hours Earlier_ **

Tony scrunched his eyes shut tight as light flooded into his bedroom. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and sleep off this massive headache he’s had the last few days. 

“God, close the curtains won’t you, Friday? Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep here?”

“Sir, you’ve been asleep for 17 hours. You have three missed calls from Happy Hogan.” 

Tony groaned, opening his eyes to look up at the ceiling. “Really? 17 hours?” 

“Yes sir. It is currently 10:04am. You fell asleep yesterday after 5:00pm.” 

Damn. He hadn’t slept that long in a long time. And yet, his head was still killing him. “Fine, Fine. I’m up. You win.” 

Tony threw the covers off him, leaving them in a pile on the unoccupied side of the bed. “Three missed calls from Happy? Play ‘em.” 

Tony draped an arm over his head, rolling his eyes as he listened to Happy complain about being ignored for 10 minutes straight. 

“Don’t forget I’m bringing Peter by this afternoon. He hasn’t shut up about the Doctor Who premiere all week.” 

Crap. He completely forgot about that. Lucky for him, Friday said it was only 10am. He still had a couple hours before Happy would drop him off. “Thanks Fri.” 

Tony took one small whiff of himself and grimaced. He needed a shower. Badly. He threw his legs over the edge of the bed, forcing himself into a standing position. 

“Woah,” he mumbled slightly, reaching out to grab his headboard. The sudden vertical movement after laying in bed for 17 hours sent a rush to his head and he had to wait for the lightheadedness to subside. 

Almost as if a light switch was flipped, Tony’s stomach did a somersault, and the world around him began to rock back and forth. 

He tightened his grip on his headboard and closed his eyes tight, hoping if he couldn’t see his room rocking, the uneasy feeling in his stomach would settle.

~

Tony had no idea how long he stood there by his bed, holding onto his headboard for dear life, but he knew it wasn’t helping. At first it felt like a casual outing at sea, gently rocking back and forth. But now, now it felt like he managed his way into open waters and a storm was brewing—his stomach hadn’t stopped doing flips since the rocking started. 

A knot formed at the bottom of Tony’s stomach and he hunched over in pain. Releasing his grip on his headboard, he let his hand slide up onto the wall, allowing him to use it as a guide as he shuffled his way across his bedroom. 

He put as much of his weight on the wall as he could, having to use it and his memory as the only way to get to his bathroom. With how bad the rocking felt with his eyes closed, he worried he’d lose the contents of his stomach if he opened his eyes to see everything around him spinning. 

The cool tile under his feet sent a chill up Tony’s spine, but he was appreciative of the cooler temperature, as he felt a drop of sweat glide down his temple. 

He cracked an eye open slightly, trying to judge how much further he had to go. Only a few more steps. 

Tony reached both his hands out, leaning against the far wall. He turned himself around to press his back against the wall and groaned as he doubled over in another wave of pain. 

As the invisible fist clenching Tony’s stomach slowly released its grip, he let himself slide down the length of the wall. Tony leaned his head back against the wall, taking deep breaths trying to calm his head and stomach. 

“Sir, would you like me to call someone?” 

“Huh? Oh, no. It’s.. probably just something I ate,” he said, leaning his head forward so he could wipe the sweat from the back of his neck. 

“You haven’t had anything to eat in almost 24 hours, sir.” 

Tony snapped his fingers and pointed up towards the ceiling. “Ah, you see? There’s the problem. I just have to get something into my system.” 

“Don’t you worry about me, Friday,” Tony tried to assure his AI. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he propped his elbow up, and rested his head in his palm. “I just need to wait for the boat to stop rocking.” 

* * *

An alarm blaring through the room caused Tony to jump awake, his head slamming backwards into the wall behind him. 

He winced and reached a hand up to rub at the sore spot. That wasn’t going to help his headache in the slightest. 

“Sir, Happy and Peter are on their way over.” 

Shit. He’d been sitting on the bathroom floor for that long? He thought it was half an hour, tops. 

“Alright, thanks Fri.” 

Tony carefully and slowly pushed himself up off the floor, trying his best not to make any sudden movements. For now it was only the throbbing in his head causing him discomfort. Everything else thankfully subsided. 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to notify Dr. Banner on your condition?”

“I’m good. Seriously,” he reiterated for what felt like the 50th time. “Probably just a concussion from when I had to rescue Pete last week.” 

The silence that followed his statement was enough to tell him that Friday wasn’t going to push him on it anymore. Otherwise he’d shut her off. 

~

Tony made his way from his bedroom to the lounge, still taking it at a slower pace than he usually would. As he passed through the kitchen he debated grabbing a granola bar to get something in his system, but the mere thought of eating anything right now was enough for his stomach to flip slightly. 

He shuffled into the lounge, grateful the kid hadn’t shown up yet. He’d just wait for him on the couch. That way they could go right into watching whatever the hell show he’d been blabbering about all week. 

Dropping himself onto the couch in front of the TV, Tony leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing at his temple to ease the pressure in his head. 

~

Peter bolted out of the elevator the second the doors opened. He basically threw his backpack across the lounge as he hurried to the couch. He had been waiting all week for today, and he’d be damned if he had to miss the Doctor Who series 10 premiere. 

The tower was the only place he was actually able to watch the show, because neither his nor Ned’s apartment received the BBC America channel, and when he discovered by accident last month that the tower got the channel, he almost died of excitement. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” he said to announce his presence before jumping onto the couch and instinctively reaching forward for the remote to turn the TV on and find the channel. Peter couldn’t help the grin on his face as the theme song blared through the room. He didn’t think Mr. Stark would mind, afterall, Peter did make him rewatch the entire show with him over winter break. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, looking over at him sitting next to him, vigorously rubbing at his temple. “Are you alright?” 

Peter reached for the remote to pause the episode, partly because he didn’t want to miss anything, but mostly because he realized it was loud and Tony clearly had a headache. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked again, a bit more forceful this time. He was relieved the second Tony opened his eyes, even though he was clearly trying to hide whatever pain he was experiencing. 

“Hm?” Was all Tony supplied as he glanced over at Peter, still rubbing his temple. 

“I said, ‘are you alright?’ You’ve been rubbing your head for the last 15 minutes,” Peter restated, worried that Tony didn’t notice the first two times he called his name. 

As he quickly pulled his hand down and away from his head, Tony replied, “Oh. Yeah, of course,” he smiled slightly. “I’m fine. Just a headache is all.” 

“Do you want me to get you anything? Some iBuprofen? Water?” Peter asked, ready to jump up any second to get anything Tony needed. 

“No, no. I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately,” he replied quickly, gesturing for Peter to stay seated. 

Peter couldn’t help but frown. “Is it the nightmares again?” He remembered Tony saying he had started seeing someone recently to help with his nightmares-- he thought it was helping. 

“What? No. It’s.. Accords things.. Ross won’t get off my back about it.” 

Peter clocked that instantly as a lie. The hesitation and the avoidance of eye contact was enough to prove that. Taking in the sight before him, Tony’s tired eyes, how he sank into the couch, and how his temple was starting to redden from the pressure Tony had put on it, Peter decided to drop it. Clearly this was something he didn’t want to talk about for the time being, and Peter wouldn’t push him on it. He knew he would come to him on his own accord if he needed to. 

“Okay..” he said quietly, relaxing into the back of the couch, but keeping an eye on Tony. 

He watched carefully as Tony reached his hand up to rub at his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as Tony started breathing heavily. 

“You just.. Keep watching your show,” he said in between breaths as he pushed himself up off the couch. 

Peter instantly pushed himself upright, not taking his eyes off his mentor. 

“I’m going to...” he continued, needing to pause and take another deep breath, but it was clear to Peter he was trying to hide it. “..going to.. Get some--” 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut tight, reaching a hand out to grab the wall and steady himself. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, concern clear in his voice as he stood up from the couch. 

“--some .. water,” Tony barely breathed out. 

Peter watched in horror as Tony’s eyes relaxed and his hand dropped from the wall he had placed it on before leaning forward and crumpling to the floor. 

“Tony!” Peter yelled out, stepping forward out of instinct. 

He managed to grab a handful of the robe Tony was wearing, pulling him towards himself, away from the glass coffee table and easing his fall to prevent any further damage than what was already causing issues. 

He released his grip on the robe, and kneeled down at Tony’s side, panic starting to kick in. “Tony?” He asked, hoping he could hear him. He reached a shaky hand up to Tony’s neck, fingers digging into his skin as he felt for a pulse. 

_ Thank God _ , he let out a breath of relief at the feeling of Tony’s pulse under his fingertips. “Friday, call..” he paused, thinking of who to even call in this situation. 

“I have already alerted Dr. Banner and Colonel Rhodes of Tony’s current state. Colonel Rhodes’ ETA is 3 minutes, Dr. Banner’s is 7 minutes.” Friday responded almost immediately, and Peter let out another breath. 

Peter sank to his knees, moving his hand to rest on Tony’s chest. The steady rise and fall of his breathing was the only thing keeping Peter grounded at the moment. He just passed out is all. He probably hasn’t slept in a few days and his body shut down on him. 

He hoped. 

The sound of metal from the War Machine suit meeting concrete from the balcony behind him was enough to shake Peter from his thoughts. He quickly turned around to see the suit open up and it’s pilot drop down, searching through the room. 

“Colonel Rhodes! Over here!” Peter called out, waving his hand in the air to let him know where he and Tony were. Peter glanced back down to Tony, who still had yet to wake, or even move in the slightest. 

Rhodey rounded the corner around the couch, coming to a stop at the top of Tony’s head. “What happened?” He asked, quickly kneeling to check for his pulse and his breathing, just as Peter did minutes ago. 

“I don’t.. I don’t know! One minute I’m sitting down watching Doctor Who, and then I look over to see Mr. Stark rubbing his temple--I knew right away that he had a headache and from the amount of pressure he was using to push his thumb into his head with I knew it was a bad one--but he blew it off saying he was fine, and then the next thing I know he’s breathing really hard, like he couldn’t catch his breath, and he gets up saying he was gonna get some water and then he passed out!” Peter finished his retelling of events with a deep breath as he realized he dumped it all out on Colonel Rhodes in one breath. 

“Okay, okay, calm down. Good news is he’s still breathing pretty steadily, but the bad news is his heart rate is rapid and he’s starting to sweat,” Rhodey told Peter as he pulled his hand from Tony’s neck. 

“Oh god,” Peter whispered to himself, glancing down to see the layer of sweat that built up in the short period of time he’s been unconscious. “Is he going to be okay?” 

Rhodey made a quick glance toward Peter before turning back to his best friend, unconscious on the ground. “Friday, what’s the ETA on Banner?” 

“I have updated Dr. Banner on Tony’s condition, and he is requesting you to get him to the nearest hospital. He will meet you there. I have also taken the liberty of alerting Happy to escort you to the hospital, Peter.” 

Peter could’ve sworn his heart completely stopped upon hearing those words.  _ The Hospital.  _ Whatever Bruce thinks is wrong with Tony is so bad they won’t be able to treat him in the medbay. This wasn’t good at all. 

“Okay, kid. You heard her. I have to get him to the nearest hospital. What I need you to do is to meet Happy in the garage so he can pick you up and follow me there,” Rhodey explained the game plan to Peter as he retreated back to the balcony for the War Machine suit. 

The whirring of the War Machine suit’s thrusters and the papers scattered throughout the room pulled Peter from his thoughts just enough to watch as Colonel Rhodes bent down to carefully pick Tony up, supporting him under his neck and knees. 

“Kid,” Rhodey called out to him. “Peter! Come on! You can’t clock out on us now. I know you’re scared, hell,  _ I’m _ scared. But I need you to get it together and meet Happy downstairs. You hear me?”

Peter nodded his head without pulling his attention from Tony in Rhodey’s arms. Just in the few minutes that Colonel Rhodes has been here, Peter could tell Tony was getting worse. And he knew he wasn’t helping the situation at all by standing here doing nothing. “Okay. Yes, sir,” he finally replied, turning on his heels for the elevator once Rhodey had taken off from the balcony. 

The elevator doors slid open as soon as Peter stepped near, and he began to descend just as quickly. He had Friday to thank for that, but currently he couldn’t stop thinking. The last time he was at a hospital, he lost his uncle. And he was afraid the universe was going to do the same to Tony. 

After what felt like both forever and absolutely no time at all, the elevator doors were thrown open, and Peter stepped out into the underground garage. He didn’t have to waste much effort before he spotted Happy’s black audi pulling around the corner. The car came to a screeching halt in front of him, and Peter pulled the door open, dropping himself into the backseat without a word. 

As soon as the car was stopped it was going again, and Peter could feel Happy glancing at him worriedly. 

“He’s going to be alright, Peter. Tony’s a fighter. You know that,” he finally spoke up after the silence became unbearable. 

“He better be. I can’t lose him,” Peter replied without pulling his gaze from the skyline out his window. “I just can’t.” 

A single tear found it’s way down Peter’s cheek, and he quickly reached his hand up to wipe it away. He’d be damned if he lost Tony today. 

* * *

By the time Happy had managed to get through traffic, letting out quite a few choice words against other drivers as he did so, it had been about 15 minutes. He knew he would have made much better time if he had web-swung his way from the tower, but he also knew he wasn’t in the mindset to do so, considering the entire drive had gone by in a blur. 

Peter threw the car door open the second it came to a stop in front of the main hospital entrance. As he made his way through the sliding doors into the hospital, he was thankful for Happy to drop him off before going to park the car. 

He spotted Rhodey pacing the length of the waiting room to his left, and he swallowed nervously as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Colonel Rhodes?”

Rhodey stopped his pacing just enough to look up from the ground to see Peter standing at the entrance, his hand still on the door handle. 

“How is he?” Peter spoke up again before giving Rhodey the chance to say anything to him. 

Rhodey crossed his arms over his chest, taking a second to collect himself before looking back up at Peter. “They wheeled him into emergency surgery a few minutes ago.” 

Surgery.  _ Emergency surgery _ . Peter repeated in his head. 

“Bruce asked them to run an ultrasound, and they discovered he was bleeding internally. They couldn’t see where it was coming from so they had to take him to surgery.” 

Oh god. 

Peter dropped himself down into the nearest chair. Internal bleeding. He knew right away when and where the problem had to have started. And it was his fault. His mentor, Tony Stark, one of the few people he looks up to in life, is in emergency surgery to fix internal bleeding that would never have occurred if Peter wasn’t so reckless. 

“Hey, no, I know that look. I have seen that look too many times to count during the 30 years I’ve known Tony. This isn’t your fault, Peter. You can’t blame yourself,” Rhodey said softly as he took a seat next to Peter, placing his hand on his shoulder. 

“But if it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be in this mess. If I had just waited for backup like he told me to, instead of going in to fight that monster on my own, he wouldn’t have had to cover me, and he never would’ve been hit. I was being reckless and he was distracted because I was hurt.” 

Rhodey nodded his head slightly in understanding as he leaned back against the uncomfortable plastic chair. “While that might be true, Tony is an adult, Peter. He should’ve known better. He should’ve gotten medical attention immediately following whatever happened. He made the choice to prioritize you well being over his, and I know he would do it again in a heartbeat. He’s going to be okay,” Rhodey paused before straightening slightly. “And if he isn’t, I’ll kill him myself.” 

* * *

The last two hours were the longest two hours of Peter’s life. He alternated between pacing back and forth the length of the small waiting room, and doing things to take his mind off what was happening. 

He tried texting Ned, but Ned panics easily, and that started to make Peter panic so he told his friend he had to go. 

He tried closing his eyes to get some rest, but the image of Tony collapsing in front of him was playing on loop. 

Someone offered to get him a snack, but he had no appetite. 

He wasn’t able to take a deep breath and relax until a Doctor finally walked through the door to the waiting room, scanning the room and saying, “I’m looking for a Colonel Rhodes?” 

Both Peter and Rhodey were up on their feet in a heartbeat, making their way over to the doctor. 

“Yes?” Rhodey asked when they were standing mere inches away. 

“Okay, so I wanted to call your name to prevent any unwanted attention. Anyways, the patient is currently out of surgery, and he’s stable. We identified the cause as internal bleeding. It was worse than we thought by the time we got in there. He’s just coming off the anesthesia, so he might be a bit in and out, but I can show you to his room,” he finished explaining by dropping his clipboard to his side, gesturing for them to follow. 

The three of them snaked through the hospital hallways, with Happy following not far behind, quickly back into head of security mode. 

The Doctor stopped just outside a room, his hand resting on the door knob. “You should know, he’s very lucky. Based on the damage that he had suffered by the time he got here, I don’t know how long he would’ve lasted if he hadn’t gotten help when he did.” He pushed the door open, and stepped to the side. 

Peter craned his neck to get a glimpse inside the room. He stepped in slowly, grimacing as the signature sterile hospital smell found its way up Peter’s nose. The steady rhythmic beeping of the machines Tony was hooked up to helped Peter relax as he took a seat in the plastic chair next to the bed, not taking his eyes off Tony. He was okay. He was going to make a full recovery. 

He was okay. 

* * *

Tony was exhausted. He couldn’t recall a time he was more tired than he was at this moment. 

Well— he couldn't really recall much of anything right now if he thought about it. 

Everything was fuzzy. He was having trouble pinpointing exactly why he was so tired. 

He tugged his arm in an attempt to reach up and scrub his tired eyes. He flinched as a sharp pain shot through his arm from the movement. 

The hell was that? 

“Mr. Stark?” 

Kid? Oh great, he must’ve fallen asleep on him. What a great role model he was. 

“Mr. Stark. You gotta quit messing with your arm. You’ll rip out your IV.” 

IV? Now what the hell was going on. He mumbled a small “hm?” as he pried his eyes open, needing a second for everything to come back into focus from the blurry haze it currently was. 

“Ah, there he is. Welcome back to the land of the living, Tones.” 

Tony furrowed his brows. “Huh? Rhodey?” He looked forward, seeing Rhodey standing at the foot of the bed, and glanced to the right to see Peter sitting at his side. “Pete? What happened? Where… Am I in a hospital?” 

“Tony, you scared us half to death. You passed out at the tower. Had to be taken in for emergency surgery,” Rhodey filled him in, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“What?” 

“Internal bleeding, Tony.” 

“Isn’t that where my blood is supposed to be?” Tony joked slightly, cracking a small grin. His grin faded in an instant as he noticed his company wasn’t in a laughing mood. 

Rhodey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not funny, Tony. Next time you get hurt in a battle, you get immediate medical attention. Who knows how bad this could’ve ended if you passed out somewhere by yourself. You’re lucky Peter was there when it happened.” 

Tony glanced from Rhodey to Peter, who was still standing firmly by his side, and had yet to take his eyes off him. “In my defense, I thought it was a concussion,” he tried explaining, but immediately drew back at the concern still on Peter’s face. “I’m sorry, Pete.” 

“I know you want to protect me and keep me safe all the time, but you can’t do that if you end up in the hospital every time we have a mission.” 

Tony nodded his head. Both Peter and Rhodey were right. “Yeah, you’re right. I promise I’ll never do anything to prioritize you and jeopardize my health again. Scouts honor,” he said, lifting his hand carefully in what he assumed was the scout hand signal. 

“Tony. You were never a Boy Scout.” 

“It’s the thought that counts, Rhodey,” Tony shot back, smirking. “And you-“ he paused, pointing to Peter. “You can stop looking at me like I’m going to break at any second. I’m okay now.” 

Peter was taken aback slightly. “I know. It’s just..” 

“Yeah, I know,” Tony quickly supplied. He already knew what he was going to say, and he didn’t want him to have to actually say it. “Just come here.” 

Peter watched with a small smile as Tony reached his arms open, gesturing for a hug. He nodded his head and stepped forward, bending down to Tony’s level. Carefully he wrapped his arms around him as much as he could without hurting him. 

“Thank you,” Tony whispered. 

“Anytime.” 

**The End.**

  
  
  
  
  



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